Harvard did not use the prospect of the property reverting to DiGiovanni as a negotiating wedge, Ingersoll said. "They [Harvard] were scared about it the same as we were," he said.

But Cambridge Mayor Francis H. Duehay '55, a member of the community advisory group on University Place, said the end of January deadline "possibly" gave a subtle everage in favor of Harvard's plans.

And one neighborhood activist, who asked to remain unidentified, said DiGiovanni's involvement "has always been lurking in the back of our minds."

Harvard officials have repeatedly emphasized that they were asked by city officials to buy the University Place property in order to prevent construction of a complex that angered the Mt. Auburn St. neighbors.

Before DiGiovanni sold the property--part of his extensive holdings in the Square--two years ago, he had reportedly considered constructing twin high-rise apartment buildings in the site.

Harvard's design for about 85 luxury condominiums no more than 80 feet high and 200,000 square feet of non-academic office space in six-story buildings "deliberately throws away about one-third of the potential income" on the site.

Because of the latest design modifications submitted to the historical commission, a small portion of the condominiums originally planned may now have to be dropped. Schmidt said.

He declined to estimate whether those changes would significantly affect the project's capacity to generate an acceptable profit, saying that the necesary calculations have not yet been completed